Kill the dragon, or rescue his heart? Rycard Serod's band of hunters is in dire straits. Deep in the borderlands overrun with plague, starvation, and the brutal Boa Visk armies, the hunters are out of money, out of food, and half a continent away from their winter camp, with storms close on their heels. Their only chance of survival is the bounty Rycard has accepted, the largest they've ever been offered. The downside—they'll be working for the Boa Visk. The other downside—they'll be hunting a dragon. Luckily, they don't have to kill the dragon. Just bring him back alive in all his fire-breathing, magic-wielding glory to the Boa Visk, who want him for their own dark purposes. But when Rycard finally has the dragon in his sights, he begins to question his decision. The dragon's not only a powerful beast, he can transform into a man—a beautiful, wise, honorable man, who makes Rycard's war-weary heart long for the balm of the dragon's touch. Vorgon Graydalon will do anything to keep the humans of his valley safe, even if it means war with the Boa Visk. But the unexpected arrival of a band of hunters has endangered everything—his freedom, his people, and even his own kind, hidden away on their remote island far from the Boa Visk threat. He can't understand why Rycard, who claims to hunt monsters, would take Boa Visk gold to hunt him, the one creature who protects the humans. But when Rycard forces him to reveal his secret and shift into human form, Vorgon cannot refuse. There is too much at stake. And the way Rycard looks at him makes something wild and primitive awaken in Vorgon's heart. He's not sure if the dragon hunter will be the key to his salvation, or the key to his destruction, and that of all his kind. But after a night in the hunter's embrace, he's powerless to walk away...